Ex-MBGN Sandra Petgrave & Husband Jailed for Millions US $ Fraud

Sandra Petgrave won the MBGN title in 1992. Her and her husband, Chiedu Chukwuka, have six children – four girls and twin boys. They were arrested, tried, and are sentenced for fraud and are to pay millions of dollars in fines. She will spend 18 months in prison, while her husband’s sentence will be much longer – nine years.

This isn’t the first time the couple has been on the wrong side of the law. On August 2 2009, the ex queen was charged with battery against her husband and spent two days in jail before being released on bail.

Chiedu “George” Chukwuka has been sentenced in connection with his lead role in a mortgage fraud ring that spanned five years and caused millions in losses. Chukwuka, along with his co-defendants and other co-conspirators, engaged in a massive property-flipping scheme resulting in over $5.8 million in actual losses to financial institutions between 2006 and 2011.

“At the height of the recent mortgage-fraud crisis, this property-flipping scheme caused scores of homes to fall into foreclosure, costing financial institutions millions of dollars in losses,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn.

“The sentencing of Mr. Chukwuka brings to a close a lengthy investigation and prosecution of a criminal enterprise that targeted the banking industry through their prolific mortgage fraud schemes. Mr. Chukwuka, considered by law enforcement and prosecution to be head of this enterprise, caused extensive damage with high loss amounts to those victim banks involved. The FBI is pleased with the role it played in bringing about this sentencing to federal prison of Mr. Chukwuka as well as the previous sentencings of his co-defendants in this matter,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.

According to U.S. Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Chukwuka, along with his co-defendants and co-conspirators, recruited straw buyers to purchase homes at a discounted price, typically a bank-owned or distressed property. The group then recruited a second straw buyer to purchase the same home at a dramatically inflated price. In turn, Chukwuka, his co-defendants and co-conspirators applied for an acquisition loan for the second straw buyer, supporting the loan application with false income, fake employment, and fraudulent net worth data.

The group profited from their scheme by pocketing the acquisition loan proceeds paid by the victim bank to the straw seller (who was the straw purchaser in the first transaction). The amount of profit was the difference between the price paid by the straw purchaser in the first transaction and the price paid by the straw purchaser in the second transaction, less transaction costs. Since none of the straw purchasers made any significant loan payments, the targeted properties usually went into foreclosure, resulting in over $5.8 million in actual losses to financial institutions between 2006 and 2011.

Chiedu “George” Chukwuka, 47, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. to serve nine years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,868,243.80. Chukwuka was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on August 10, 2015, after he pleaded guilty.

The following five defendants also pleaded guilty for their roles in the scheme, and were previously sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. as follows:

Shelly Gee, a/k/a Shelly Baker, 48, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced on November 10, 2015, to one year, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,243,909.99. Gee was convicted after pleading guilty on June 17, 2015.

Sandra Petgrave, 43, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced on December 4, 2015, to one year, six months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,051,970.77. Petgrave was convicted after pleading guilty on August 18, 2015.

Kennedy Simmonds, 54, of Snellville, Georgia, was sentenced on December 17, 2015, to three years, ten months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,868,243.80. Simmonds was convicted after pleading guilty on July 6, 2015.

Marcelle Welch, 37, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was sentenced on December 17, 2015, to two years, three months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $2,554,189.25. Welch was convicted after pleading guilty on July 29, 2015.

Leah Freeman, 43, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced on December 17, 2015, to two years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $1,828.532.94. Freeman was convicted after pleading guilty on June 19, 2015.

In a related case, Chinedum Oli, 42, of Snellville, Georgia, was sentenced on February 19, 2013, by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Marvin H. Shoob to five years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $4,373,281.63. Oli was convicted after pleading guilty on October 9, 2012.

This announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF) which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.

All these Atlanta ‘jawja’ naijas be buying $2 milllion mansion and masserati yet they tell you they are in the nursing field, pyshical therapy field or real estate. Everyday for thief one day for owner. Be going to neiman Marcus buying $30K chanel croc classic bags. Haha.

When people see “perfect” looking family on facebook or instagram pics looking good and folks tapping into things but have no idea what they are tapping into. There’s a young family here in LA, I won’t be surprised if this is what they are into. Time will tell when dark things will come to light. Wife is a registered nurse, husband not sure what he does but lives a luxurious life. All i know is, they throw big extravagant parties, live in an all white big mansion, they are the talk of the town. I saw them at church for a thanksgiving celebration recently and the pastor even had special attention on them . Their daughter – 1yr birthday was a carnival celebration, adults, grandmas/grandpas, uncles, aunts all showed up. They have four cute kids. One pic alone on their FB has 200 -300 likes just to tell you how popular they are.

Nigerians have been doing fraud since forever. California used to be the hot spot for 419 scammers. I’m glad, they are receiving punishment for their actions.

Shows how Gist is carried from one source and copied by so many lazy bloggers . If you go to the couple facebook it obvious they have 3 girls and 3 boys not 4 girls .
But hey the facts are never checked , One person does a write up and the rest copies with no credit self

This is soannoying!! White people do this ish everyday. Buy properties, flip them and do some transactions illegally but they’re not getting jailed!! Black folks, especially us Nigerians, please listen good. White people dont wanna see us prosper. If we drive a nice car or as soon as it seems as though we’re balling, they start snooping. Anyways, wishing all these guys the best. Real estate is a B!+ch!! So many grey areas.. ???

How many Ghanaians? The bad reputation of Nigerians as seen by the outside world, who can competes? A typical response though. Your blind loyalty/patriotism when you guys have issues and an outsider point it out. We know you don’t carry last Continue!

@ Anon darlyn don’t mind Daisy & Am a! We are bad but yet, they can’t stay away from our site.. What a shame. Y’both get a REAL life cuz y’all ain’t all that. Oh BN makes my off day from work BETTER. I have all the time to answer these heffas.

Naija people, let’s be honest most of the 419scammers have been Nigerians. Not saying Ghanaians don’t do it but naijas are first when it comes to fraudulent act. From naija to South Africa to London, Asia and U.S, the 419 scammers have nigerian first and last names.

False. It’s is not just Nigerians. This is Nigerian media that’s why we hear about Nigerian cases. Do you expect to hear about Zimbabwean fraudsters on BN? Hundreds of thousands of Americans and nationals of other countries are in jail for fraud so it is not just us. Shame on them though.

On the flipside, her hubby looks like he will make someone very happy in jail *sips tea*.

Ana, please shut up. “It’s always Nigerians”. Anyway you’re Ghanaian so I’m not surprised by your stupid comment. You have the nerve to come on a Nigerian website and say such bs. Go to the UK, Canada and the Netherlands and see the fraud your people are doing. Only Nigerians indeed. Cretin!

@ Am a thunder fire that mouth. I know an ASHEWO babe, a full blown Ghanaian hot mess but she always try to claim Nigeria. Oh girl she got it served by d Feds when her cup was full. Ghana people wetin Una sabi! Y’all better prostrate for Us(Nigerians). We MADE y’all. From that useless ghana movies y’all use to have, to fashions, to Ashoebi-bella volume. Pls Am a don’t get me started on your ratchet ass.

My aunt brought tgis news back last night from work & i got to work this morning, it’s one of those days were you co-workers try to mock U because of this shit right here. I’m so DONE & honestly it baffles me how these folks think they can get away with it. If u didn’t get caught the first, second, third ish round; lucky U but when u continue that’s a problem. Especially them been from Nigeria oh yes, it will be a big one & they keep messing up the reputation of other fellow Nigerians. So sad but oh well hopefully their kids are ok.

@ Nahum exactly lol @ ur hastag. It’s so bad it’s not funny. I remember vividly about three years ago, sth like this came up at work, a patient of mine ( oyibo) turned & said ain’t u Nigerian? I’m like Yes’ma, of u see the eyes this woman gave me? I didn’t care if she was my patient oh; I defined myseld right away. I told her straight we r one of the smartest folks as a foreigner in the world, we rich baby so don’t play. She thought she could scare me mtcjew. Beside, alof of white folks are in jail for murder, drug addiction etc. She replied true! I can still be nice to U & set U straight up.

Listen BN readers, mortgage fraud was wide spread in the USA and cut across all nationalities.
The sad part about the mortgage fraud crisis was that the CEO’s of the big Wallstreet investment banks that indirectly encouraged the fraud by making it easy for any and everyone to qualify for a mortgage loan because their firms came up with creative programs of making funds readily available were never prosecuted! They kept their bonuses and salary which ran into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The only individuals getting prosecuted are the small fish, while the whales aka investment bank heads walked away with their money… Read up on Lehman investment bank

Thank u jare! I just wish I could turn off every television at work ??????☺??. When Chibok girls happened chai the way these idiots carried it on their head, U will think they were born & raised there. U never comot for your County let alone enter ✈ out of America, but them dey act like say them know Nigeria.

And for those naija girls always looking for ‘abroad husband’.
you meet him whether on facebook / instagram or whatever and sharply he comes to pay your ‘bride price’ in December. without you even doing back ground check on him.
Not saying dis is d case, but a lot of naija girls so far he has money and tells you his into ‘properties’ or ‘business’, you don’t investigate properly.

@prince shut up that smelly thing you call a mouth. Get lost with your silly. Comment. Bella naija how can you encourage such an anti tribe comment by allowing it to find its way up here. A crime is an act not a face. People should stop being stupid and making stupid comments!

Usually, both parents won’t be sent to jail same time. The woman may go first and when she’s done serving time, the husband serves his.
It’s just a sad situation whatever the case.

The law always catches up with the corrupt, especially in the west. I wonder when these our people will learn. Let’s forget racism, there is no excuse whatsoever for what they did. Now add racism, If you see 1 million white people committing a crime, and you’re black and from Nigeria for that matter, run 440 to the other direction. Don’t give them the opportunity to practice their racism on top your head.

That’s how I was talking with a colleague the other day and when I said I was nigerian, he mockingly asked me “how many African princes you guys have back in Nigeria? Cause i keep getting emails from alot” I just tire

I believe this is a classic case of racism. The big whales who committed the fraud i.e. big investment bankers were never prosecuted. Even the AIG CEO was paid a million a month consultant fee by AIG after they were bailed out and he was forced to retire. This guy committed one of the biggest frauds in American history and almost pushed the country and the world into a deep recession.
I don’t understand why no one from the financial industry got prosecuted and they are still not regulated. Almost all realtors were doing what these people did. This thing cut across all nationalities and race. The investment banks were pushing the mortgage lenders to give out more loans. Their slogan was the more the merrier. They never sent Appraisal Specialists – you basically appraise the value of the house yourself. So basically, you find a house of $200k and simply tell the bank it cost $500k. They will give you a $500k loan no questions asked. I mean, you could have the worst credit, have filled for bankruptcy yet still get approved for $250,000.

I mean even if you found a house for $150,000, they were encouraging you to take $200k loans -they will say use the 50k balance for renovations or travel as buying a house is stressful. At that time, all you needed for a downpayment was $1k. You could buy a million dollar house and all you need down is $1k. What happens when this happens? Nobody has money to buy anymore- people are loosing jobs left right and center. The banks are stressed- they don’t have any money anymore because no payments are coming in. The foreclosure rates go from zero to a 100. They can’t afford to sit on all those houses so the banks starts reducing the prices of the distressed houses. People buy them for dirt cheap and sell back high. This means that people are buying houses that cost $500k for $200k. Investors are flooding in. Some girl in my college, her parents helped her buy a house. She found a foreclosed 3 bedroom condo worth $400k for $50k. They paid Mexicans to fix it up for another $15k. She spent about $30k today to pretty up the place. The apartment looked straight out of a magazine after that. She rented two rooms out for $800 each so one of the room’s were paying her mortgage. After fixing the house, the value went back up to 300K. She litreally could have sold it for $300k. Ridiculous system.

You know what is worse now. The banks were bailed out so now they have a lot of money and are now considered too big to fail. You pay 20% down now but if you default on your mortgage, they foreclose the property and you loose everything. They make the big bucks because they have been getting your previous payments, they get to keep your 20%, that you put down. They then hire a realtor and contractor to make the house look nice essentially flipping the house and then sell the house back at market value. So, the banks are the ultimate winners in this all. This means – buy buy to getting foreclosed properties for below market value rates.

I think that it is ridiculous that these Nigerians are being punished for this shit when most of the people who were doing it and masterminded it are Caucasians who buy all the yachts and private jets they can lay their hands on.

Sorry Teju..I disagree with you…the Nigerians who participate in this activity are more than aware of what they are doing…they are not stupid…and they think they are covering their tracks..when in fact every move they make is being monitored….
Igbo Kwenu!!!!

Men black people always using race as excuse. I didn’t get the job oh its because I’m black or maybe your bachelors degree was nothing compared to the others with a PhD. You stole finish. You were caught finish. Now you’re being punished finish. Stop using race as an excuse for your faults, mistakes, or no progression in your life.

and they have 6 children? that’s what caught my eyes. why? anyway everyday for the thief and one days for the owner. it’s sad when women support men and prefer to be with a man who’s into illegal activities. what example are you setting for your children? what of all the curses that come with these illegal activities? i’d rather remain single than marry a man who gets money from illegal activities.

My instincts never fail me! I met one of these guys in a concert here in Atlanta a few years ago. He was so polite and we hung out for the rest of the evening. We exchanged numbers after he asked me out. Btw my crazy work schedule and his, we finally managed to go on a date after almost 4 weeks. I was completely blown away. He was the perfect gentleman and I kept asking myself why is this guy still single? I said to myself this is too good to be true.

After we made plans for the second date, I did a background check on him, and what I found out made me speechless! I got some information about the criminal record, but at that time the case was still pending in court. He did tell me he was into real estate, and owns his own company. His wedding was featured in BN as one of the top 12 Nigerian wedding of that year. He had a wife and kid, that he was separated from, but no legal divorce records.

When he didn’t come clean to my on the second date, I decided to use my tongue to count my teeth. Whenever he called, I would tell him that my work was keeping me busy until we finally stopped communicating.

Thank you Lord Jesus because I for don enter one chance, and somebody will rope me in something I know nothing about. Ladies please be careful when it comes to these Atlanta guys. Always follow your instincts, and don’t be afraid to do background checks on these men. When it is too good to be true, IT REALLY IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE! BN no mind my long epistle, I’m still processing this information.

Na wa. Sandra Petgrave always had longer throat. Ben Bruce go remember her well. They dated, fell out and he stripped her of the title. Big disgrace. I wonder where those her sisters are. Lorraine and the one who married an Amusan.

Hmmm!!!! What is really going on these days… Is it the love of good life or just plain greed? Same thing that has happened to Karen Eloke Young’s bestfriend “Sally Iriri” her own is even worse because she wasn’t married to the man, she just has a one year old son and they have sentenced her to 10 years in prison…. Just sad really

@ken, agreed those fraudulent guys are idiots. What do you now mean by our beloved presidio go out and ruin the little reputation Nigeria has got. I hope you are not referring to President Muhammadu Buhari with that statement. If you are, you must be the most stupid, useless somebody. I am sure you have no respect for your parents not to talk of your grandparents.. I am wondering what our presido has done to ruin Nigeria’ s reputation. Your mouth and laptop has infection. Only God will deliver you from oro katikati, ase oro. I hope the igbe gburu from your mouth will not finish you.